Thank You Chap!

Thank you for making me your wife four years ago. Thank you for making me laugh every single day. Thank you for making my dreams of being a mommy come true! Thank you for working so hard for our family. Thank you for always loving me no matter what.

Happy Anniversary!! I love the life we are making together and can't wait to see what the next four years bring!

4 Months and Updates!

I promise I will start blogging more and not just these monthly updates. Things are very busy around the Rollings’ household these days!! I can smell Spring Break right around the corner though so don’t give up on us just yet!

Can NOT believe our little man is already 4 months old!! He’s accomplished some fun new things this month. He’s officially a Rolly Polly, rolling from both his belly to back and back to belly (though I think the belly to back roll is only done so he can get out of tummy time). He enjoys standing on his legs (even though the doctoe says that's a 'no no'.) He’s also cooing, babbling, and laughing a lot more now and mommy LOVES it!

He’s also started going to his new babysitter, Julie, who we absolutely adore!! Yes, we were spoiled for the first month I was back at work having the grandmothers and Krissee come take care of us…but we are LOVING Mrs. Julie too!! Winn actually loves her so much that he hasn’t shown her his ‘stinky side’ yet…yes, that’s right, my child has saved all of his poopy diapers for yours truly to take care of for the last two weeks. Thanks honey!!

Chap’s job is now requiring him to be out of town most every week through July, which leaves me a very busy single mommy taking care of my boy, teaching, and still going to grad. school. While we are VERY fortunate to have a job, and the work, we sure do miss that daddy man when he’s out of town!!!

Growing with Grover: 4 Months

15 lbs, 26 inches long

(The rat wouldn't put his legs down so I could get his length)

Such a sweet little boy!! He loves playing 'tic toc'!

And he sure does love his Gramps! I think my dad's excitement used to scare him, but now he can't seem to get enough of it!!


I guess the only concern I have about my child right now is his eating habits. For some reason he likes to go on these diets, refusing to eat most of his bottle at times. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about, but after having a sick baby I think I'm a little more paranoid than the average Joe. It concerns me because our doctor says we’re supposed to be at SIX ounces, and I can hardly get him to take FIVE!! Ahhhh!! Any suggestions or advice in that area is MUCH appreciated!! Unfortuneatley, I can’t bribe him with desert yet because the good doctor says that until we’re up to 32 ounces a day, we can’t start solids. Poor baby, I know he’s gotta be sick of that dang formula!!



He might not be eating as much as he should, but he sure doesn't look it! Check out those cheecks!


Anyway, besides that feeding part, I’m enjoying each month more and more. I love watching his little personality develop; he is such a sweet baby and steals my heart every single day. He literally wakes up smiling and goes to sleep the same way. I still can’t believe he’s mine??!! I don’t think I could be more in love with anything else if I tried!!

Growing with Grover: 3 months

This month has FLOWN by! Teaching, working on my masters, and being a mommy sure does make you appreciate the weekends!! In some ways I look back on the last three months and feel like it's been at least a couple years, then other times I look back and I feel like our little man was just born yesterday!

1 month

2 months
3 months

I can't believe how much he's grown...looking at these pictures is pretty amazing. He is gettng VERY curious and there's nothing more I love than watching him learn new things. He's fascinated with his hands right now, sometimes I think he might swallow his entire fist...kind of scary at times. He loves music, singing, stretching, snapping, rap songs we make up about him, watching his Daddy bounce the blue ball, the fan, having his diaper changed, and the television (though I work REALLY hard on not letting this last one happen). He's becomming quite the chatter box too...nothing sweeter than his precious baby words :)

I'm sure I'm a little bias, but I honestly believe he's one of the happiest babies I've ever seen. He smiles ALL the time...and man, can he flirt already?? He'll give a grin and cut his eyes at the same time that just makes my heart MELT!

Exhibit: A
...and B.

I wish I could say he gives me ALL the smiles, but he really is good about sharing. Daddy gets TONS, Cookie & Gigi get a lot, and so does Aunt Krissee!

He's doing really well with his schedule and is sleeping through the night like the angel I prayed for :) He goes to bed at 8:00 p.m., I wake him for his last feeding around 10:00 p.m., then he sleeps till I get him up at 6:30 a.m. It's amazing what a healthy baby can accomplish! :)

I love, love, love being Winn's mommy! I know I'm so lucky to have him in my life, and I thank God for him every single day!

Thank You Aunt Krissee!!

Words can begin to express the gratitude I have for my amazing sister/friend Krissee! My first week back to school, she came from Pawley’s Island to take care of Winn for me and did an AMAZING job of taking care of all of us!! Though it was a tough week for me, it made things sooooo much easier knowing he was home with Aunt Krisseee, Smith, and Addison having a fantastic time with people that loved him almost as much as I do!

Just a few fun memories from their visit...I could watch these two all day long.

Keyboards are WAY more fun when you dance on the keys!

Winn ADORED Smith. Anytime they'd walk by him he'd flash a BIG smile! Smith and Addison were soooo sweet to him. They are going to make excellent big cousins!

Thank you so much Krissee for giving us a week of your time, love, and effort! I know it was VERY difficult keeping up with all three babies…not to mention having dinner ready for us every night! You’re my hero and I truly look up to you in so many ways!! I’m not sure how I’ll EVER re-pay you, but for not please accept this HUGE thank you from me, Chap, and Winn!! We love and miss you bunches!!!

Back To School...

Holy cow, I can’t believe this is my last week home with my little guy! When I look back on the past 11 ½ weeks I’ve spent as a new mom I smile on the inside. It’s been a hell of a ride, but one that I will cherish forever! Even though there were many moments of tears and frustration, I am thankful for every day, every moment, and everything that I’ve learned about myself and my son. And while I’m really looking forward to seeing my sweet little class and wonderful teacher friends, a small part of me is heartbroken for how much I will miss my little man.

Winn sent me flowers this week, thanks buddy! (and thanks to that daddy, I'm thinking he had something to do with it :)

This totally melted my heart.
Yea, don't let him fool you...feedings don't always go this smooth. :)
This is basically all we do these days...

I know it's going to be tough on Monday, but it does make it easier knowing he'll be in good hands!! (We can't wait to see you Aunt Krissee!!) I'm totally smitten with this little boy and enjoy every second I get to spend with him!! So the countdown begins...61 days till Spring Break!! :)

Terrific at Two Months!

We just returned home from our 2 month check- up and couldn’t be happier! Finally, a good report from the doctor man. Winn has gained almost two pounds since his surgery, and is almost back to his fighting weight coming in at 11 lbs 6 oz and 23 1/2 inches tall (80th percentile in height!) While we did have to endure the yucky 2 month shots, they were surprisingly easy breezy compared to everything else the poor guy has been through!

Growing with Grover : 1 month

Growing with Grover: 2 months

Our little boy is sooo much happier now that his tummy is fixed. He’s eating, smiling, and cooing the way those normal babies do in commercials and magazines! :) We’re working our way to getting on a schedule, but it’s going to take some time still. His stomach is similar to a newborn’s, needs to be stretched slowly to fit food in it…so we’re still on a 2 ½ -3 hour schedule day and night. Let’s just say mama is READY for a good night’s sleep!! :)

I almost burst everytime he smiles. I love him so much!

He sure does enjoy his moo cow, he'll laugh at this thing all day. It cracks me up!
Sleeping is MUCH easier now that my tummy isn't broken :)

We are grateful that our boy is finally on a healthy track. Thank you so much for all the prayers and support that's been offered for this little man through his journey. It's given us strength and peace that we are very grateful for!

Never Quit!

Please disregard the last post…momma obviously didn’t know what a ‘mess’ was till this week! My goodness, parenthood is really keeping us on our toes with this little guy :)

Last week, Winn started throwing up a few times a day. I called the doctor who told me it was probably from the mucus and RSV. So…it went on for a few more days, getting progressively worst, while the RSV was improving. Finally, after 3 days in a row of my child projectile vomiting after EVERY feeding, we figured it was time to call the doctor again…which happened to be on New Year’s Eve. He told us it was time to take him to the hospital. So, away we went…to spend another holiday in the ER!

After several hours, one ultra sound, and a projectile vomit in the good doctor’s face…it was determined that our little boy had Pyloric Stenosis. This is a condition that little boys can be born with (unexplained) that causes a valve below the stomach to grow too fast and quit working, not allowing food to pass through, therefore creating projectile vomit. While it was quite disturbing to me that my 7 week old child would need surgery to open this valve, I was also very relieved to know that there was a solution to so many of the problems we’ve watched our little guy struggle with.

This was before...throwing up on average 16 times a day. He would wake himself up from vomitting.

Happy New Year!! This was the first hour we were at the hospital, on our way to figure out what the heck was wrong with our little guy!!

He was so weak after not having nutrients for several days, he slept most of the time...except when he got his first IV :(


After surgery, notice the IV in his poor little head. They had to ask me to leave the room when they put this in...momma got a little red on the nurses after they stuck both hands, and feet, trying to find a good vein.

Hanging out with Gramps after surgery. Thank you dad for ALL of your help and support! Your positive attitude helped us through a VERY difficult night, and I love you for that!


Chillin' with Cookie watching the Carolina game. Thank you, Marilyn, for ALL you do! You are always the first one to offer your love and time and we appreciate it more than you know!

I look back on this week and can’t really believe all that we’ve experienced. It’s amazing the things your body and emotions can endure when it comes to your child. I’m so lucky to have a strong husband to go through this with. I feel like it’s made us stronger parents and a stronger TEAM. I pray every night for parents and families that have a sick child. We are extremely lucky that our little boy could be treated and healed so quickly. I understand this, and am forever grateful.

As for my little boy…I don’t have words that can describe how much I admire his strength. He’s definitely a fighter with such a sweet spirit that reminds me of what’s important in life. Even when he was at his worst, he would look up at me after throwing up and smile…as if to say, “Mommy, I’m cool…stop worrying!” So many times I would look at him and be reminded of a quote by Winston Churchill that hangs in his room, “Never, never, never quit.” I think my boy is already learning this lesson, and reminding me of it every day.